American black metal has generally been considered inferior to their Old World counterparts with only a handful considered to be on a par in terms of quality. This may be Serpent Eclipse's first official release (_Thy Bleeding Heavens_ contained demo versions of songs featured on this release and was only distributed to media outlets), but he (solo-project time again) may become part of that small and elite group. Serpent Eclipse successfully fuses the grim, misanthropic atmosphere of the black metal of old with futuristic electronic elements, creating a harsh and unforgiving, yet incredibly intense release. The use of a drum machine amplifies the overall cold feel of the CD, but the guitar manages to retain enough warmth to prevent this release from sounding too clinical. Serpent Eclipse do not place as much emphasis on the electronic aspects as Norwegian counterparts Dodheimsgard or The Kovenant, nor is _TSDaWB_ as groundbreaking as _La Masquerade Infernale_ -- but the relatively restrained use of electronica on _TSDaWB_ perhaps explains why it is considerably more aggressive than say, _666 International_. This is an exhilarating and innovative release by a band that is not afraid to expand upon pre-defined and unecessary limitations.